surprise.

"Hello, Tom!" Ned cried. "Here's something new, and I guess it will
interest you."

"What is it?"

"It's part of an account of some daring smugglers who are working
goods across the Canadian border into the northern part of this
state. The piece is torn, but there's something here which says the
government agents suspect the men of using airships to transport the
stuff."

"Airships! Smugglers using airships!" cried Tom. "It doesn't seem
possible!"

"That's what it says here, Tom. It says the custom house authorities
have tried every way to catch them, and when they couldn't land 'em,
the only theory they could account for the way the smuggling was
going on was by airships, flying at night."

"That's odd. I wonder how it would seem to chase a smuggler in an
airship at night? Some excitement about that; eh, Ned? Let's see
that scrap of paper."

Ned passed it over, and Tom scanned it closely. Then in his turn, he
uttered an exclamation of surprise.

"What is it?" inquired his chum.